The invention concerns a process for the production of bread crumbs from a starch-containing raw material in the form of flour, grits, semolina or meal, an arrangement for the performance of such a process as well as bread crumbs which are subsequently obtained and the use of these bread crumbs as an instant product.
Bread crumbs are a more or less granulated flour. The purpose of their use is that they are favorable to the frying process by catching, for example, the fat discharging from the meat while frying and the meat juice. Therefore, they must have a good adherence and absorption capacity without covering up the taste of the product covered with the bread crumbs. The color of the bread crumbs is light or dark depending on the kind of the production process and on the kind of raw materials used. The bread crumbs used in households are mostly darker. The reason lies in the fact that preferably bread sections are used for its production in households. Very often, the housewife processes also strongly baked bread into bread crumbs. In both cases, the portion of the bread crust is larger and gives a dark color to the bread crumbs. The portion of bread crumbs obtained from the bread crust has a lower absorption capacity and tends to carbonize during the frying process. The components of the crust which have formed during the baking process owing to chemical reactions, such as dextrin (at 110.degree. to 140.degree. C.), caramel-type substances (at 140.degree. to 150.degree. C.) and roasting products (at 150.degree. to 200.degree. C.) as well as carbonized portions, are not desired in the bread crumbs. Therefore, too large a portion of bread crust gives an undesirable characteristic taste to the bread crumbs.
The above mentioned points of view are taken into account in the industrial production of bread crumbs. Thus, very light bread crumbs are often offered for sale for psychological reasons. Attention is paid to the loaves of bread which are especially baked for the production of bread crumbs to the effect that little dark crust develops so that the taste of the bread crumbs is a neutral one and has only very lightly the taste of customary bread. This taste of bread should, by no means, come through.
According to an earlier definition, bread flour is an unimportant kitchen item to which the word "flour" was attached because it originates from a crushing process following the baking process. It should actually be called bread crumbs. According to a more than one hundred year old definition, "breading" means "to sprinkle grated bread on pieces of meat" (cf. Brockhaus, Issue 1861). The use of a cake-like baking dough is not mentioned. According to a definition in the Duden, baking means "to prepare with a dough and to cook it and make it edible under the effect of heat". In any case, roasting effects are not desired in the production of bread crumbs.
Today, the above mentioned definitions are only applicable to a limited extent when considering present consumption customs and tendencies. Therefore, "bread crumbs" are also frequently used neutral stuffings, for example, a meat, almond and nut stuffings. They are also used in order to prepare gravies, snacks, etc. Specially spiced bread crumbs for prepared meals are demanded more and more.
The two, so far customary, industrial processes for the production of bread crumbs are similar to each other. In the case of an older process, baked goods, rolls, bread, etc. which could not be sold are dried and ground to the desired size. This process is actually an economical one since the baked goods are completely utilized as food. However, more recently this has been more and more questioned. The doubts have primarily developed on the basis of the problems of hygiene. Since the distribution organizations have distribution networks covering large areas, a regular recollection of the merchandise that was not sold is very expensive. It also involves strict hygienic requirements and, furthermore, strict requirements as to preservation. The normally baked bread has actually a comparatively high humidity so that it becomes moldy after a short storage period in an unsuitable packing. The infection of baked goods with mold fungi is partially effected through the air (indirect infection) and partially through contact with dirty surfaces on machines, devices, etc. (direct infection). Moldy baked goods are considered as being spoiled in the sense of the law on food items. They are not only impaired as to the way they look, their odor and their taste but there is also the danger of impurities consisting of toxic metabolic products of the mold fungi.
For the above given reasons, this process is only applicable, therefore, within a bakery, restaurant or another operation because a sufficient control is only ensured within the same operation.
In the case of a more recent process, special loaves of bread are produced to obtain bread crumbs. This process has been adopted on an industrial scale especially because it does not only produce less expensive forms of bread but the bread quality could also be adapted to the requirements of bread crumbs.
Very recently, a number of new processes have become known which differ considerably from the classic methods which is, for example, described in the Swiss Pat. No. 335 934. In the German Pat. No. 100 624, a process is, for example, described for the continuous production of flour for rolls where wheat flour is stirred into a viscous dough with water and salt. The dough is subsequently baked in strips of 1 to 2 cm on a heated steel band, dried, the surface is browned and it is ground. The bread crumbs are then finally obtained from the ground product.
According to another recently developed process, it is attempted to apply a high heat and pressure during the baking process by using extruders. It is not known that satisfactory results are obtained with such a process. The plant investment as well as the energy consumption are not lower in the case of the two last described processes than in the case of the traditionally selected process using the actual bread.